Extra virginity
Subtitle: the sublime and scandalous world of olive oil
By: Tom Mueller
Publisher: W. W. Norton; W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2013
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 257
ISBN-13: 9780393343618
Subjects: Olive oil; Folklore; Food adulteration and inspection; Olive; Olive oil industry; Corrupt practices; History
Description: For millennia, fresh olive oil has been one of life's necessities, not just as food but also as medicine, a beauty aid, and a vital element of religious ritual. Today's researchers are continuing to confirm the remarkable, life giving properties of true extra-virgin, and "extra-virgin Italian" has become the highest standard of quality.  But what if this symbol of purity has become deeply corrupt? Starting with an explosive article in The New Yorker, the author has become the world's expert on olive oil and olive oil fraud, a story of globalization, deception, and crime in the food industry from ancient times to the present, and a powerful indictment of today's lax protections against fake and even toxic food products in the United States. It is also an  account of the artisanal producers, chemical analysts, chefs, and food activists who are defending the extraordinary oils that truly deserve the name "extra-virgin."
Notes: Includes index.

Originally published in hardcover: 2012.
Table of contents: title: Essences; title: Olives and lives; title: Oil bosses; title: Olives sacred and profane; title: The lovely burn; title: Industrial oil; title: Food revolutions; title: New worlds of oil; title: Mythologies.